Spring-wheel.



O. G. WOHSLEY.

SPRING WHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED ocT. Io. I9I8.

Patented Mar. 11, 1919.

IN VEN TOR.

IIIIHIA WITNESS A T TORNEY UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEErcE.

o'rTo e. wonsLEY, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.y

yBe it known that I, OTTO Gr. WonsLEr,

. a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the countyoffOook and State mobiles traveling over roughroads, particularly ata highhrate of speed,andv also inv case oftrucks carrying heavy loads,the re#A silient portion of the wheelinpracticeyhas at least four functions: one, to provide a radial cushioning effect'betweenT the roadbed and the rigid or central portijon of the wheelganother function is to provide shock absorbing means to overcome the effects of the rebound of the rigid portion of the wheel from the outer rim in case of sudden jars; yanother function is to provide for tor.-' sional stresses between the 'hub and the tire f of the wheel, and another function is to provide for transverse or side stresses. One object of this invention is to provide a wheel which will carry out in a proper manner thesevarious functions.

A further object of therinvention is to provide simple,l eiiicient and dependable resilient means for the wheel.' Other objects of the invention will be apparent from a consideration of the accompanying drawings and the followingdescription thereof.

Of the drawings Figure 1 is an elevation partly in section, of a wheel which embodies the features of my invention. Fig. 2 is a section along the line 2'2 of'Fig. 1. And Fig. 3 is a section along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

/The wheel comprises a hub 10, a hollow felly 11, and resilient members 12 which constitute the spokes. The felly may be built up in any suitable manner. I prefer to have it comprise an outer rim 13 with ordinary flanges 14 for attaching a pneumatic tire; and an inner rim 16, to which is fixed an annular side wall 17. The other side wall consists of a ring 18, the inner edge, when the ywheel is assembled, pressing against the inner wall 16 of the felly, and the outer edgeof the ring 18 and of the wall 17 being spaced apart by a bracket 19,

p l f, speciscation of rettefrlsratent. j YPatentml 1v[ar11,'1919 Application md october 1o, 191s.'v seai 110.257,561. y

which is fixed, v(Fig. 3) to the outer .rim 13, in any suitable manner, such as by means of rivets 20.

The resilient members 12 comprise a strap of steel having tubular shaped ends rotatably fixed within the felly by means of bolts 2l passing through the walls of the felly and through sleeves 22. The sleeves 22 have conical ends projecting into corresponding holes in the side walls of the felly so as to take the pressure o of the bolts 21. From these sleeves the portionsyof the same straps extend toward each other, and thus form'resilient arms 23, which are xed to the central or spoke portions of the straps, substantially at right angles thereto. The central portion of each stra-p is bent so as to form a-tubular portion. Passing through each of these tubular portions are two abutting hollow journals 31, by means of which the strap is rotatably fixed between the side plates of the hub, or the side plate 25 of the brake drum, and the side plate 23 of the hub, by means of thev bolt 27. The journals 31 have oil holes 32 into which oil may be Y passed into the interior of the journals, and

other holes 32a through which the oil passes to the friction surfaces of the journals and straps. The doubled portion of the strap then extends outwardly from the hub through the slots 28, in the annular member 29 which forms the outer wall of the hub. The straps then extend to the felly, forming the spokes of the wheel, and pass into the felly through slots 30; and are bent substantially at right angles so as to form the aforementioned arms 23.`

The ends of the arms 23 are pivoted to the sides walls of the fellies adjacent the outer w-all; and the arms `are curved, as shown, with a radius less than the radius of the outer wall, with the point of connection of the arms with the spoke portions of the strapsbeing positionednormally near the central portion of the felly. This arrangement is such that las the weight of the vehicle presses down the arm will come against the outer wall of the felly, adjacent the pivot 21, and the arm will gradually bend, resisting the weight of the vehicle until the shoulder strikes against the outer rwall of as the weight overcomes the resistance of the arms. At the same time the spokes being' constructed as described, are resilient, thus allowing slight but suitably limited and cushioned relative rotation of Ythe tire and the hub. The slots 2S, allow sufiieient movement between the hub and spokes to provide for the unlike springing` of the spokes because of the unlike stresses thereon due to their various posit-ions relative to the direction of the force' of the vehicle; but these slots limit suitably the relative rotations of the hub and elly. Similarly the slots 30, allow for the ynecessary springing` of the straps.

A sulieient spaced@ is provided between two of the bolts 2l to allow an air tube to pass from the pneumatic tire through the inner wall of the felly.

As to the aforementioned functions of the springs. The arms 23 `provide the radial oushioningelect between the road-bed and the hub, and also provide shook absorbing means on the rebound, as these arms act resiliently in both directions; also `the spokes provide means for cushioning the torsional stresses between the hub and the tire, and also the transverse stresses. And these statements are in general with reference to all of the springs at all times when any stresses oeeur. At the same time the springs are assembled so as to benormally some- Lasagne? what strained,` thus preventing rattling effeats.

I claim as my invention:

l. In a spring wheel a hub, a` hollow telly, and a plurality of members fixed to said hub and extending' into said felly, each of said members comprising resilient arms extending` in opposite direction in said felly and having` tubularshaped ends, and means rotatably connecting said ends with said felly, said means Comprising a sleeve ypassing through eaeh of said tubi'il-ar ends, said sleeve having conical ends, land `t'he side walls of lsaid elly having con-ical holes to receivefsaid oonieal! ends, yand a bolt passing through said side walls holes and through said sleeve. y

ln a vspring wheel, a. hub, a hollow telly, and Ya plurality of fineinbers extendiinq` ro'msaid hub into saidV felly, each of said members Comprising a strap of steel, the two ends of said strap being rotatably oon` neetedY to said felly, and the'eentral portion of said strap beingitloubled, landpa'ss'ing from vsaid e'lly to V'said' hub, and being` rotatably fixedv toisaid hub, having a tubular shaped sleeve formed thereon, a hollow journal passing' `through said sleeve, and lixed to said'hub.

ln testimony whereof, l lhereunto set my hand. t

@TTG G. WTORSLE Y.

@spies of this patent may be obtained' for' five cents each, byeressng the flemziisslonerfoPatente, Washington G. 

